ICE will release body camera video only when seen in the agency’s ‘best interests,’ policy says
The policy lets ICE withhold or delay release of footage after deadly incidents, even as officers are required to wear cameras during enforcement actions.
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement will equip field officers nationwide with body cameras by the end of September, though the agency's policy grants it significant control over what footage is released to the public.
- Years of delays followed President Donald Trump's 2025 decision to rescind a Biden-era order mandating federal body camera use, leaving ICE without equipment despite receiving a historic $75 billion infusion in 2025.
- Following fatal shootings in Maine and Houston, ICE spent $30.9 million in July on equipment from Axon; more than half of field officers now have devices, including over 800 cameras recently distributed in the Houston area.
- The agency's policy allows for video release within 72 hours, but officials may block footage if they determine withholding it serves the "best interests of the agency," as a committee of lawyers and top officials decides release.
- While White House border czar Tom Homan argued cameras "exonerate agents," lawmakers have criticized the slow rollout; Chicago's police watchdog typically releases footage of serious use-of-force incidents within 60 days.
135 Articles
135 Articles
The Haitian Times
abc 7 LAICE will release body camera video only when seen in the agency's 'best interests,' policy says
AP — Immigration and Customs Enforcement is moving to equip officers with body cameras in the next two months but the agency’s policy gives it broad control over what footage will be made public by specifying any releases must be in its “best interests.” After years of delays, ICE said its field officers nationwide will have body-worn cameras by the end of September. The rollout comes after recent fatal shootings by officers enforcing U.S. Presi…
However, the anti-migrant police asked for them to make it clear that the footage will only be made public in the best interest of the guards.
ICE defends body-camera policy allowing releases only in agency's best interests
ICE's acting director has pushed back against an AP report on the agency's body-camera release policy. The dispute has sharpened scrutiny over how and when footage is made public after deaths, injuries and shootings.
Daily News-Record
ICE takes issue with AP reporting on policy to release body-worn camera footage
The acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is taking issue with reporting by The Associated Press on a policy to publicly release body-worn camera footage only when the agency determines it is in its “best interests.” David J.…
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